


Stay With Me

by Cici_R



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Ruby & Sapphire & Emerald | Pokemon Ruby Sapphire Emerald Versions
Genre: Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-02
Updated: 2020-01-23
Packaged: 2020-02-16 00:37:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,475
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18680545
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cici_R/pseuds/Cici_R
Summary: For as long as she can remember (which isn't very long at all), Fennekin had been told that raw strength was all that mattered. She doesn't have that. She doesn't have anything but herself. And so, no matter how much she believes she ought to recoil from weakness, she clings to what kindness she's given.(Set about a decade after R/S/E.)





	1. evermore

If there was one thing Fire-type Pokémon loved more than anything else, it was ash, Flannery mused to herself. Well, no, it was probably heat. Or maybe open flames. Or was it lava? Or...okay, that wasn’t a very good analogy to begin with. Point was, Fire-types generally had a good time in the places the hot ash from Mt. Chimney settled, and the more hot ash there was, the more Fire-types started to congregate. That was why she was out here today: the volcano had been acting up something fierce recently. The ash had been coming down like snow for the last few days, and with conditions like this, it could get dangerous to travel.

Not just because of the ashfall, but that was certainly dangerous too, inhale too much ash and you start having _problems_ . Still, that particular issue could be solved with a simple face mask. No, what Flannery was more concerned about was the wild Pokémon. With ash so thick she could see it piling up on the branches of trees, Fire-types not usually found in the area could be having an absolute field day. The last thing a trainer, or even worse, a tourist, trying to get to Lavaridge Town needed was a flight of rowdy Charizard dive-bombing anything they saw along Route 112. And that’s not even getting into the problems a Pokémon like a Magcargo could cause if it wandered into the forest and didn’t realize everything under all the ash was still flammable. Jeez, she _really_ hoped that didn’t happen again. Just thinking about how things had gone down last time was giving her a headache.

Fortunately, she hadn’t yet spotted anything that needed handling. The worst she’d seen so far was a herd of Ponyta stampeding down the path, and honestly, that was barely even dangerous. Sure, someone could get trampled, but even the most rowdy bunch of Ponyta she’d ever met did everything they could to avoid hitting any humans in their way when they went on a tear, so the only people at risk of getting hurt were the ones who were dumb enough to specifically try to throw themselves underhoof. Not to mention, the stampede was clearing the path of ash, so nobody would have to wade through it or sweep it aside later. All in all, not really something she considered worth worrying about, especially with how little travel to and from Lavaridge there had been these last few days.

Still, just because there weren’t any big problems she could see, didn’t mean they weren’t there. Flannery knew she would have to keep an eye out for at least another few days, just to make sure nothing cropped up. She wasn’t particularly looking forward to getting covered in ash over and over, but she was pretty used to it after living most of her life in the shadow of a volcano.

She let out a sigh. Was it wrong that she kind of wanted _something_ to happen, just so she wasn’t bored out of her skull? If she was anything, she was a hands-on type of girl. Walking around just to make sure she wasn’t needed felt like a huge waste of time, no matter how necessary she knew it was.

Almost as if in response to her silent question, a twig snapped nearby, the sound only faintly muffled by the ash on the ground. It was probably just a lone wild Pokémon, sure, but it was definitely not nothing, so she changed course, moving toward the source of the sound as silently as she could. She had to place her feet very carefully so as not to make the same mistake that Pokémon had, which made her pace slow to a crawl, but it was that or risk the Pokémon running away. The Fire-type specialist could certainly be patient, despite her reputation, but she had to be patient for a _reason_. For instance, scouting out something potentially interesting.

And, peeking out from behind a tree trunk, she could see that this certainly was interesting. Fire-type Pokémon that Flannery didn’t know particularly well were few and far between, but lo and behold, here one was: a Fennekin. Those were Kalos-native, and from what she remembered Kalos was quite the way away from Hoenn. With that in mind, seeing one wandering around just outside her home town? That was _really_ something special.

She passed her fingers over the Poké Balls on her belt, considering her options, then smirked to herself. What kind of Fire-type specialist would she be if she didn’t go for a sure capture on such a rare Pokémon? Before the fox Pokémon could spot her, she hurled the third ball in sequence, and her Incineroar landed on the ground with a solid _thump_ , displacing a small cloud of dirt around his feet.

The Fennekin jumped at the sound, letting out a strangled yelp, and when it looked back in her direction she could see its eyes beginning to brim over with tears. She winced, rubbing a thumb against the empty Poké Ball she’d pulled out of its pouch. Okay, so a Pokémon as strong as Dev was...definitely overkill for battling something in its first evolutionary stage, and maybe even a little cruel. She’d probably gotten too carried away, in retrospect. The Fennekin ran away as fast as its legs could take it, and she didn’t command the Incineroar to pursue immediately, a frown creasing her brow. One of the things Flannery did know about Fennekin was that in terms of physical ability, they were a lot like Vulpix. Having raised a Vulpix before, she believed she could be rather confident in saying that this Fennekin was _far_ slower than it should be, running flat-out like that. A little variance from how her Vulpix had run, she could see being normal, but with that much of a difference, there was no way it was well. That made the decision of what to do next a no-brainer.

“Alright, Dev, follow that Fennekin, but...see what’s wrong, okay? It’s not in any shape to be fighting. If you can, bring it back and I’ll see what I can do for it.”

“Incin.” With a nod back at her, her Pokémon broke into an easy loping run, quickly fading out of sight in the dense forest.

Flannery sighed, swinging her pack off of her back as she leaned against a nearby tree trunk. Digging through her medical supplies, she took mental stock of what she had on hand. A few Potions, some Heal Powder, a couple of Leppa, Sitrus, and Persim berries...that ought to cover just about anything, she supposed. Now she just had to wait for Dev to get back. That probably wouldn’t take too long, right?

 

\----

 

Incineroar weren’t exactly known for being scent trackers, and Dev would certainly admit that his sense of smell wasn’t the sharpest. On top of that, with all the ash lying around, scenting _anything_ was significantly harder than usual. Still, it wasn't like he had to rely on that, for once. After all, the Fennekin wasn’t even trying to avoid leaving traces of its passage, so keeping track of where the shrimp was going was almost effortless. At the pace he’d chosen to make himself as non-threatening of a pursuer as it was possible for a giant muscle cat to be without completely losing his target, he’d caught up with the wild Pokémon in just a few minutes.

Or, at least, the trail didn’t go anywhere... He looked around, trying to find a trace of the Fennekin. A faint whimper, just this side of complete silence, reached his ears, and Dev turned to face a hollowed-out log. He could bust it open, he supposed, but that’d just scare the midget, and he knew quite well that that’s not something you want to do to a young Pokémon having trouble taking care of itself. So, instead, he ambled over to the log and just...sat down on the ground, back against the bark.

The Fennekin’s breathing quickened, and there was a panicked note in it that he might be a bit offended by if he didn’t know exactly how intimidating he looked.

“Ey, squirt,” he said, “I ain’t here to hurt you.”

No response. Not really a surprise.

“My trainer gets a bit overexcited, and she was gonna have me take you on, which is a bit unfair, sure, but...well, sorry to say it, but you ain’t looking too great. She got worried. The forest around Mt. Chimney here ain’t no place for a ‘mon that’s got nobody to look out for them, y’know?”

He paused, trying to figure out how to go about coaxing the fox out of its log. This kind of thing really wasn’t his strong suit. Can’t punch the problem, can’t get it mad by trash-talking it. Ah well, nothing to be done about that. Just gotta play it by ear, and things ought to work out, right?

“So...how’d you end up out here, anyway? Long way from the kind of places you’d expect to find a Fennekin.”

Still nothing. He was starting to get a bit irritated by that, actually.

“Alright, so you won’t talk. Hiding ain’t doing you no good; I know you’re there. I can hear you breathing. You still don’t wanna say anything, fine. Just...smack the log for yes, don’t do anything for no, I guess? Bein’ out here talkin’ to myself is kinda dumb.” He sighed. “Someone ditch you here, or something?”

The Fennekin shifted around in the log, and he heard a hesitant rap of its paw on wood.

“Ah, crap. ‘Course that’s what happened. Stupid, scum-suckin’, piece of—ugh. Hate anyone that acts like _that_. Either give a damn, or don’t; don’t change your mind midway. Was it a human that kicked you to the curb, or what?”

The little rant seemed to have a positive effect on the fox; its breathing had calmed somewhat, and this time the affirmative thump was more solid.

The big Pokémon grinned to himself. You talk smack about something someone else hates, and they start to like you a little better. One of his favorite tricks. “You like ‘em at first?”

The only response he heard was a scornful huff, as though the Fennekin found the thought completely ridiculous.

Dev ground a claw into the ash and dirt. “A jerk right from the start, then. Better than havin’ it the other way. At least you weren’t losing someone you thought was a friend. But then...ugh, if you’re human-raised, livin’ out here would be pretty rough. Are you? Human-raised, I mean.”

There was a hitch in the other’s breathing, and he was quick to continue, “Hey, ain’t nothin’ wrong with it if you are! Human-raised, wild-born, all that matters for is the kinds of things you learn when you’re little, and...well, you look pretty little to me. So if you weren’t born out here, I wouldn’t expect you to know how to hack it in a place like this. You wouldn’t have had time to—“

His rambling was interrupted by another knock on wood.

“Yeah, okay,” he grumbled, brushing some of the ashen residue off of his paw-hand. “So you ain’t been out here long, I’d guess, and like I said, you don’t look so good. Been having trouble finding food, right?”

This time, the little fox Pokémon’s stomach answered instead, and Dev couldn’t hold back a chuckle.

“Thought so. I can go track down a few berries for you, if you want. I ought to be able to find ‘em pretty quick.” Not really bothering to wait for an answer, he shoved himself to his feet. The Fennekin had actually ran almost right past an Oran tree, so all it really took was a bit of backtracking, and he was golden.

When he got back to the log just a few minutes later, it was easy to tell that the Fennekin hadn’t moved from its hiding place at all. Maybe it really was just that desperate. Or maybe it just didn't think it could get away. Eh, didn't really matter either way, he supposed.

Dev brushed a patch of ground by the end of the log mostly clean of ash with his foot and set the pair of berries on the exposed grass, peeking in briefly to see the other Pokémon shying away from the movement.

“Aight, squirt. You’re gonna have to come out and get ‘em, I ain’t tossing those in for you.”

That said, the Incineroar sat himself back down against the log to wait.

It wasn’t long until he heard movement, and looked over to see the Fennekin’s snout poke out into the open. Its ears twitched as it had a brief look around, and almost immediately it—she, he could see now that he’d gotten a decent look—fell upon the berries, devouring them as fast as she could.

Dev might have been a bit of a jerk, but he wasn’t _cruel_ , so he waited until she had finished off the second Oran before he reached over and lifted her by the scruff of her neck. Looking her up and down with a critical eye, he winced.

“Jeez, kid, you look like you ain’t had a bite in days.” The Fennekin’s ribs were clearly visible, and although she was struggling a little, Dev could tell that she was weak enough to make that a mere formality. “Lookin’ at you, I’m surprised you were able to run for as long as you did.”

He shook his head with a sigh and continued, “Anyway. Here’s how it’s gonna be, squirt. I ain’t letting you starve out here, and I can’t stick around long enough to help you figure out how to fend for yourself. So you’re coming with me. Got it?”

She’d stopped struggling, and the meager effort she’d put forth had tired her out enough that all she could do was nod shallowly. Her fearful eyes met his, and he looked away after a moment, back in the direction his trainer waited. He didn’t bother to set the Fennekin down before he started walking. The way the half-pint was looking, he didn’t really see the point in making her waste her strength on that trip when he could do it for the both of them.

 

\----

 

“Zzt! Hey partner, I think he’s back!”

Flannery looked up from the screen of her PokéNav, and sure enough, her Incineroar had returned. Carried in one of his hands was the Fennekin, dangling by the scruff of its neck.

...She’s not really sure what else she expected from Dev, actually. Hastily, she said her farewells to Professor Birch and terminated the call, snapping the PokéNav shut.

“Roar, cineroar!” he told her, placing the little Pokémon in her arms as Rotom-Dex dismissed the data on its screen and floated out of the way. It was far lighter than it should be, she realized almost immediately. Concerned, Flannery began to gently stroke its fur as she examined it more closely. Rotom kept its distance, thankfully; with how enthusiastic the electric Pokémon was, it sometimes forgot that it could make an overwhelming first impression, and that really wouldn’t be helpful right now.

The Fennekin stirred, trying to wriggle out of her grip, but it was nowhere near strong enough to give her trouble, which wasn’t terribly surprising as it was displaying clear signs of malnourishment. It was a bit strange to see a wild Pokémon that couldn’t find food. Maybe that meant that it used to belong to someone? Carefully, so as not to jar the poor thing, she sat down next to her pack, reaching in without looking. It took only a moment for her to find what she was searching for, and after a bit of fumbling, she offered the starving Pokémon half of a Lava Cookie.

After a cautious sniff and a curious nibble, it eagerly chowed down, even going so far as to lick the crumbs off of her hand. As soon as it finished the treat, it looked back up at her expectantly.

“No, you’re not getting any more right now,” she told it. “If you eat too much at once, you’ll get sick. Chew on this instead, alright?” The Professor's advice in mind, Flannery instead gave the Fennekin a mostly ash-free twig, cradling it securely with her other arm.

It glanced down at the twig and huffed a sigh before reluctantly grabbing the bit of wood in its teeth. That was a bit of a surprise, but also a relief. She hadn’t really expected a wild Pokémon not to believe it knew better than her, but if it was willing to listen to her, that would make helping it so much easier.

Absentmindedly wiping some of the ash off of the Fennekin’s fur as it munched on the stick she’d given it, Flannery gave some thought to what she ought to do next. ...Oh, who was she kidding? Obviously, getting the fox Pokémon somewhere it could rest took priority right now. Carrying around a Pokémon that weak while specifically looking for trouble was a really bad idea, and there was absolutely no way she was going to leave it here in this state.

“Alright, pal,” she told Fennekin, “I’m gonna take you back to my place, and we’re gonna get some real food in you. Sound good?”

It looked back up at her with a pensive expression, stick still hanging out of its mouth. “Fen-ne…” came the slightly muffled reply.

Well, judging by the fact it wasn’t trying to squirm out of her grip again, that wasn’t a no. She understood the reluctance, though. “Once you’re back up to full strength, you can leave if you want. I’d like to have you stick around, but if you don’t want to, I won’t make you,” she promised.

Fennekin didn’t seem entirely convinced. Still, it looked like it had decided that going with her was preferable to continuing to starve. Or maybe Dev had just intimidated it into cooperation, she considered, having realized that it was looking at just about everything but the Incineroar. Eh, it didn’t matter much. The end result either way was a Pokémon getting the care it needed, and that was the most important part.

Standing up, she shifted her grip slightly so as to hold the little Pokémon one-handed without dropping it when she slung her pack back over her shoulder. Turning in the direction she knew would lead back to Lavaridge Town, Flannery commanded, “Rotom, Dev, eyes up. Gonna need you two to keep lookout for me on the way back.”

“Sure thing, partner! Zzt!” “Roar!”

Thus acknowledged, the veteran trainer started walking, keeping one eye on the path in front of her and the other on Fennekin. Even though she knew she probably wouldn’t run into any problems, she was a bit worried about what might happen on the way. It wasn’t the first time she’d had her Pokémon scout for her in a potentially dangerous area, but it was the first time she’d had to do that while carrying a Pokémon that couldn’t defend itself. If worst came to worst, she knew she might accidentally drop it while reaching for her Poké Balls if she ran into a nasty surprise, and with how weak it looked, she didn’t really want to bet on it being able to take even a short fall without injury.

...And of course, just as she thought that, some kid brandishing a Poké Ball popped up out of nowhere yelling about wanting to have a battle. She about jumped five feet in the air, and had to bite back a shout of her own. Simultaneously, Fennekin yipped, tucking its head under her arm as best it could. Would it have killed Rotom to say something? She knew it would have been able to pick up the kid’s PokéNav, and of _course_ he’d have one. The darn thing was just too useful for any serious trainer to pass up. Sure, he wasn’t a _threat_ , per se, but a little bit of notice would have been nice!

Stroking the shivering Fennekin currently pressing itself against her, she took a moment to set aside her irritation. “Sorry kid, gonna have to take a rain check on that battle,” she replied.

“Huuuuuh? Why’s that? I thought whenever one trainer challenged another, they had to battle right away!” The young trainer—he looked maybe twelve?—tilted his head in confusion.

“Nope. It’s good practice, so just about everyone goes along with it, but it’s not mandatory. You just happened to catch me when I’m in the middle of something important, that’s all. Tell you what, though. If you come see me in Lavaridge tomorrow morning, I can make some time for a Pokémon battle. I’d need to switch out my team anyway. How many Gym Badges do you have so far?”

“Uh...three? Why’s that matter? My Pokémon and I can take anything you got anyway!”

Flannery couldn’t help but smile at the kid’s fire. She always loved to see that kind of enthusiasm. “You say that, but you do realize just challenged one of the Hoenn Elite Four, right? I’ve got my hottest team with me right now, and I only get that fired up for full League challengers.”

“Whaaaaat?! Are you really one of the Elite Four?”

“Yep! Name’s Flannery. I’m the group’s Fire-type specialist.”

“Oh. Ohhh! Yeah, I remember now! I thought you looked familiar; I’ve seen you on TV a few times! Hey, does that mean that’s a Fire-type Pokémon there? I don’t think I’ve ever seen it before!”

“Yeah, it is. This is a Fennekin." She gently patted its head. "They’re usually found in Kalos, so it’s not surprising that you wouldn’t recognize it. This is the first one I’ve ever seen out here in Hoenn. Well, the first one that wasn't with a trainer, at least.”

“Cooool!” The kid leaned over to get a closer look, his slightly too large hat almost slipping off his head. Fennekin, having calmed down enough to actually look out around it, tried to pull away from him, but there was only so much it could do with what little room it had. “Hey, do you think it would let me pet it?!”

She looked down at the cowering Pokémon. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. It’s pretty scared right now, and I’m not sure it’d want someone else touching it. Why don’t we see how it’s feeling tomorrow after that battle?”

“Oh. Okay. Is there something wrong with it, or is it just always really shy?”

“Well, I just met this Fennekin, so I can’t tell how shy it usually is. But I can tell that hasn’t been eating much. I think it might have been abandoned by a trainer.”

There was a quavery “Kin,” from the subject of conversation, and it started to nose at Flannery’s arm.

“Ah, sorry. It looks like Fennekin doesn’t want to stand around and chat. Before I run off, what’s your name, kid?”

“I’m Lars, and I wanna meet every kind of Pokémon in Hoenn!”

“Really? That’s a good goal, and taking on the Gyms is a great first step, even if you don’t make it to eight badges.”

“Thanks a lot, ma’am! I’ll definitely get eight badges, though!” A determined grin threatened to overtake the boy’s face.

“Heh. I’d expect nothing less, with that attitude. Anyway, you’re gonna want to be careful on your way; ashfall like this can get Fire-types really antsy. If you happen see a Pokémon that looks like it’s causing trouble, make sure to let me know when you see me, alright?”

Lars saluted, almost smacking himself in the process. “You got it!”

Flannery started to walk away, but before she took more than a few steps, a thought occurred to her. Turning back, she called, “And _stay away_ from them! Taking care of dangerous problems is my job, not yours!”

“Can’t make any promises, but I’ll sure try!” came the flippant reply from out of sight, the boy having already started to dash after something or other. Flannery wasn’t too concerned, though. Plenty of young trainers acted casual about dealing with powerful wild Pokémon, but that didn’t mean they weren’t sensible enough to avoid taking on anything way out of their league. The kid had three badges anyway, which ought to mean he had a decent enough head on his shoulders. She knew that anyone who didn’t would have a heck of a time getting badges out of any half decent Gym Leader.

“Fen?” The little Pokémon peered out at their surroundings, squirming around until it was in a position to see behind Flannery. “Fen, kin,” it sighed as it settled back down, clearly relieved.

“Sorry, bud,” she replied, scratching it behind the ears. “I know that’s probably not the best first impression when you’re already having a bad day. You think you can give him a second chance when he shows up tomorrow, once you’re a bit more rested up? He doesn’t seem like a bad kid.”

“Fenne..." It considered the question for a moment as it leaned into her hand fractionally, before pulling away and giving a hesitant nod. “Ne-kin.”

“I appreciate it. I’m sure he will too. Let’s get going again, shall we? I can’t wait to get all this ash out of my hair.”

“Fen!”

 

\----

 

At first, Fennekin (she’d had a name, once, before _that_ . What was it?) hadn’t believed that this person could be anything but trouble. After all, the only times she ever remembered people interacting with her were...well. She didn’t want to think about what had happened. Suffice to say that even if she _had_ starved to death, it would have been better than staying.

The first sign that this person might be different was the Incineroar. If _that_ group had sent a Pokémon after her, it would have just grabbed her. But this Incineroar...talked to her. He got a little upset when she didn’t answer him, but instead of forcing her to say something, he gave her another option. Even a small kindness like that would have just been another weakness to be eliminated, to _them_.

When he’d picked her up, it had felt like a betrayal. She fell back on the habits that had kept her in as little pain as possible—obey those stronger than you, and do not question.

But, very soon after, she couldn’t help but wonder. She had been allowed to finish eating the food he’d brought her, after all. And honestly, if he _was_ telling the truth about wanting to help her, then...that may have been the Incineroar’s best option. She’d have kept running until her legs gave out if he hadn’t caught her off guard like that, no matter what he’d told her.

And then, the person he’d brought her back to—his trainer, he’d called her; not his master—had been gentle from the start. In fact, she’d found herself warming up to them almost immediately. Of course, that was helped along immensely by the fact that there was food. Whatever that tasty treat she’d been given was ( _a cookie_ , whispered some lost part of her), it was the most wonderful thing she could remember tasting! It beat the absolute snot out of the food she’d been given at the compound.

It was foolish, but...she wanted to trust this person. More than anything else, she wanted to rely on someone. All that the push towards strength she’d been forced into ever since her earliest clear memory had given her was misery, and she was tired of it. She wanted to fold, to collapse and let someone else take over, and she just...couldn’t bring herself to care about how weak such a thing would make her.

If receiving comfort and kindness meant weakness, then let her be weak. There was still a voice within her that cautioned against trust, and she didn’t ignore it entirely, but...well, all that following that voice had gotten her out here so far was an empty stomach. Improving on that wouldn’t be hard.

So, as Flannery carried her, she let herself open up, bit by bit. Maybe this tiny, fragile connection she was trying to form would grow into something more. Maybe it’d snap at the first sign of strain. She didn’t care. That was the future, and the future could worry about itself. All that mattered right now was finding something she could hold on to.


	2. eclosion

It only took an hour for Flannery to reach a point where she could relax enough to call her Pokémon back from their guard positions, which Fennekin assumed was a sign this trip was almost over. It was...nice...to be carried, she would reluctantly admit, but it was definitely starting to grate. It was getting harder every minute to keep herself from trying to squirm out of the woman’s arms, even though she knew she was exhausted enough for it to be a bad idea.

 

Then she saw all the other people wandering around. Most of them gave Flannery a friendly greeting, and she hated it, because everyone who was looking at Flannery would see her and she didn’t want to be seen, all she wanted was to hide and not be taken away _please don’t take me back I can’t go back_ —

 

She felt an arm shift to hold her more securely. In a panicked haze, she attacked, biting at whatever she could reach. The arms didn’t let her go even when her teeth found bare skin, they never did, _why did I do that now they’re going to hurt me because I attacked one of them!_ She made herself as small as possible, bracing for the pain she knew was coming.

 

Something brushed at her side, and she flinched violently...but the pain never came. All that she felt was a gentle touch, a hand stroking at her fur in a soothing motion. She almost sagged in relief at the seeming absence of punishment, but then it struck her that they were probably just waiting for her to relax before they did something, and she tensed up even more.

 

The hand’s movement faltered, then drew away. “What _happened_ to you?” came a soft voice.

 

Abruptly, she found herself back in the present. She was _out_. All that was over with, it was in the past and if she had any say in it she’d never go back. So why did she react like she’d never left? All the tension drained from her body, and along with it the last of what little energy she had. 

 

“We’re almost there, okay? Just a little bit more, and we can get you inside and get you comfortable.” Flannery seemed to quicken her pace as she spoke, for which Fennekin was grateful.

 

“I hope so,” she mumbled to herself, too drained to even shift so her leg wasn’t pinned uncomfortably beneath her.

 

She didn’t really remember the next few minutes. Her eyelids had somehow grown so heavy that keeping them open was all she could do. The only other thing she was fully aware of was the rhythmic movement of the trainer’s gait, and even that seemed to be in a conspiracy with her eyelids to put her to sleep.

 

Eventually, she just gave up and let herself slide into dream. A faint call of “Alright, we made it,” chased her down.

 

\----

 

Flannery told herself that everything was fine when Fennekin stopped responding. It made perfect sense for it to want to take a nap right now. After all, Dev had spent a while chasing it, and it can’t have had much energy beforehand, given how thin it was. It was only expected that it would be tired, and it wouldn’t be long until it woke up again.

 

She still worried.

 

As she walked through her house, she carefully shifted the sleeping Pokémon so she could hold it with just one arm. With her other arm, she sifted through her closet—her _extremely messy_ closet. She resolved to clean it out later (and not for the first time that week, but that was neither here nor there) as her fingers finally snagged what she’d been searching for. A bit of careful tugging and a small plush bed, sized for a Pokémon only slightly larger than a Fennekin, popped out. After a moment to make sure the pile of assorted junk didn’t collapse, she gingerly closed the closet door and made her way back to her living room. 

 

Flannery had bought this bed just a little over a year after she’d started training Pokémon, for her then-Vulpix, Senna. Senna had hated staying in her Poké Ball unless she absolutely had to, so Flannery had taken her shopping and together, they picked out the bed Senna liked most for those nights when she didn’t just sleep with Flannery. Unfortunately, neither of them had thought ahead. After Senna evolved into a Ninetales, she was far too big for her old bed. 

 

She’d kept meaning to get rid of it, maybe pass it on to some young Lavaridge trainer, but...well, she never quite managed to get around to it. There was always something else that she decided she ought to do first.

 

On the plus side, she mused as she carried both the bed and Fennekin into her living room, at least she was finally getting some use out of it again.

 

She placed the bed down, not really giving much thought to the location beyond ‘out of the way’. Running a hand along the plush, fuzzy inside, she indulged her fond memories of her younger years with Senna for a moment. She wished she could go back to those days, sometimes. Just her, Senna, Meg and Mag, and her granddad, back when he was still running the Lavaridge Gym.

 

Releasing her worries with a sigh, she gently lowered Fennekin into the bed. It seemed to sink into the overly soft material, but it didn’t stir, and its breathing remained steady. Flannery chose to consider that a good thing. She let herself hover for a few more moments before forcing herself to pull away. The best thing she could do for Fennekin now was let it sleep, she knew that. But even knowing that, she felt like she was failing the Pokémon by standing aside and doing nothing. 

 

Dismissing that pointless worry, she slid her PokéNav back out of her pocket. It had pinged a few times on her way back home. A cursory glance at the screen showed a few messages from Professor Birch, their urgency ramping up as the timestamps grew closer to the present. Hopefully, talking to him would help her feel like she was doing something.

 

Professor Birch answered _very_ quickly. Flannery wondered briefly if he’d been staring at his lab’s PC for the last hour.

 

“What happened?” was the first thing out of the Professor’s mouth, followed shortly by, “Is everything all right?” 

 

“I think so.” She nodded at the worried face on the screen. “As all right as can be expected, at least. Dev managed to bring the Fennekin back, and it looked...not great. Here, let me show you,” she decided.

 

Moving back over to the malnourished Pokémon, she turned the PokéNav so that the camera had a clear view of it. For the sake of thoroughness, she then moved the device around a bit to give Birch an opportunity to see it at a few different angles.

 

“See what I mean?” she finished as she turned the screen back towards herself.

 

There was a grimace plastered on Birch’s face. “Yeah. I don’t suppose you have any idea how it got like that? It’s a bit strange for a wild Pokémon to be unable to feed itself.”

 

“I don’t know, but my best guess? Abused and abandoned. I doubt it had been out there long, and it reacted badly to other people. Although, it trusted _me_ right away, which doesn’t quite match up, but it’s what would make the most sense, given how much it panicked when we got to Lavaridge.”

 

All he could do was smile weakly. “Maybe you’re just that good with Fire-types?”

 

The sound that Flannery made wasn’t quite a laugh.

 

“Your guess is as good as mine on that front,” Birch continued with a shake of his head, “but I’m not going to question it. Did you check to see if it was registered to a Poké Ball?”

 

“Not yet,” she admitted. “Hey, Rotom, can you scan Fennekin and see if it’s got a registration?”

 

The ghostly Pokémon floated over and complied silently, for which Flannery was grateful. Rotom-Dex didn’t really have an inside voice. A quick glance at its screen showed her what she was looking for.

 

“Nope, looks like she’s not tied to a ball right now. Don’t know whether to see that as a good thing, or a bad thing..."

 

“Surely that’s good, right? Whoever got her into that state won’t have any grounds to take her back.”

 

“Yeah, but if she was still registered, I’d be able to track the jerkwad down and give ‘em a piece of—!” Realizing she’d started to raise her voice, Flannery cut herself off and took a deep breath. More calmly, she continued, “If she was registered, then I’d have a place to look for a potentially abusive Trainer. Without that, I wouldn’t even know where to begin.”

 

“That’s probably better for Fennekin, though. One of the most important things to do to help a Pokémon that’s been abused is to get it away from the abuse, and _keep_ it away for as long as you can. Which would be a _little_ hard when you’re actively chasing the abuser down.” Birch punctuated his statement with a pointed glare.

 

“Right...” She lowered her head with a sigh. “You’re right. But that’s assuming she even decides to stay.”

 

“Well, you said she doesn’t do well with people, but she _did_ let you bring her home, Flannery. Usually, that means a Pokémon likes you,” came the dry response. “Just help her recover and see where things go from there. By the looks of things, giving her a fairly standard diet ought to be fine, as long as she gets plenty of rest for the first day or two. A few Sitrus berries can’t hurt, either, but I doubt she’ll need them. She can’t have been without food for long enough to cause any significant harm. Other than that, well, she’ll know what she needs. I know you can work with that.”

 

“...Thanks for the advice, Professor.”

 

“Any time, Flannery.”

 

With a shallow nod, she ended the call.

 

\----

 

Fennekin came to abruptly, frantically looking around for a few seconds before realizing she’d been dreaming. Heaving a sigh that was equal parts relief and frustration, she settled back down into—wait, was that some kind of bed? It was definitely soft enough to be one, she decided. But why had she been sleeping in it?

 

And, for that matter, where _was_ she now? She was definitely inside a building somewhere, and seeing the walls around her made her feel confined, but at the very least it didn’t look like the compound she’d escaped from. There was none of the imagery or (lack of) decoration sense that those people had used; rather, this space felt...homely, she supposed she might say. It seemed lived-in.

 

Which made sense, given that she’d been picked up by a trainer and taken to their home, or at least that’s where she assumed she’d wound up. Thinking about that, she’d admit to being a little scared. Every time she could remember being face to face with a human before this, it had meant nothing good, and there was a part of her that was waiting for this particular human to drop the act and treat her like a tool to be used. It wasn’t easy to ignore that fear, but surely not everyone could be a jerk at heart, right? At least, that’s what she kept telling herself, and the only way to find out if it actually was true would be to...well, to do something like this.

 

So even if she was scared, she could deal with it. Either she’d find out that she wouldn’t have to be scared, or she’d just run away again when she found a chance. If she could get out of the compound, she could get out of a house.

 

Getting to her paws, she began to stretch the stiffness out of her limbs. Whichever it turned out to be, Fennekin could definitely stand to get to know the layout of the place, and there was no time like the present.

 

But, before she could even get out of the room, she was interrupted.

 

“Oh good, you’re awake.”

 

The trainer, Flannery, had appeared in the doorway, a device of some sort in her hand. “You’re probably still pretty hungry. Let’s get you something to eat, alright?”

 

Fennekin frowned. She’d just eaten not too long ago, hadn’t she? Surely she didn’t need food again already; she hadn’t even done anything but sleep! Her stomach, however, disagreed, and there was a part of her that figured that Flannery would be more inclined to listen to it than to her. Deciding it would probably be a lost cause, she reluctantly moved to follow the trainer as she crossed the room.

 

There was a lot of stuff in the next room, and it was a little hard for her to see the whole thing. So, the first thing Fennekin did was to jump up onto the table and look around while Flannery did...whatever it was she was doing. The room was not terribly interesting, all things considered. There was the table, there were chairs, there were counters and cupboards and all those sorts of things. There weren’t even any interesting designs or colors on anything. It was all just kind of boring. A window on one of the walls showed a cliff face off in the distance, beyond a densely wooded area. 

 

Any further observations were interrupted by the _clack_ of plastic on wood as Flannery dropped a dish of something in front of her. Giving it an exploratory sniff, she very nearly found herself drooling all over the table. This was definitely food, the absolutely delicious smell confirmed that, but it was weird. The food she’d been given in the compound didn’t look anything like this! Still, food was food, and even if she still didn’t think she _needed_ to eat anything, she wasn’t about to just turn down a meal right in front of her.

 

She took a small mouthful first, just in case the smell was misleading, and as it turned out, it was.

 

The food was _so much better_ than it smelled.

 

Before she knew it, she was licking the bowl clean just to experience as much of that heavenly flavor as she possibly could. Part of her wanted to be a bit embarrassed at the chuckle that this elicited from the trainer, but she refused to be ashamed. Surely, any Pokémon would go nuts over food as ridiculously good as this.

 

When she was finally finished, Flannery took the dish from the table to the sink, giving her a pat on the head in passing.

 

“So,” she said to Fennekin once she’d returned to the table, “what do you say to meeting one of my other Pokémon?”

 

Fennekin considered that for a moment. It _sounded_ nice, but what if that other Pokémon wanted her gone? She didn’t know much about trainers, but the whole ‘Elite Four’ thing she’d heard mention of before probably meant that Flannery was a very experienced trainer, and it stood to reason that a very experienced trainer would have very strong Pokémon on their team. If things went south, there probably wouldn’t be any way she’d come out the other side without taking some real punishment. 

 

Then again, the Incineroar had been nice enough, if a bit rough around the edges. Maybe all of Flannery’s Pokémon were more like that.

 

Well. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, she supposed.

 

She gave a nod.

 

“I’ll go get her,” Flannery promised, a warm smile on her lips.

 

Fennekin shook her head and hopped down to the floor. “I’m not just gonna wait around here,” she told Flannery as she moved to follow the trainer.

 

“Not the kind to wait on anyone else, are you?” the Trainer mused. Fennekin gave a dismissive huff in reply, to which Flannery could only laugh. “Yeah, me neither. Well, let’s hurry up, then. I’m sure you’ll get along great with Senna.”


End file.
